Romantic Poets Poe

Poets in the Romantic era often took a negative attitude towards science. This attitude was adopted in large part to the dominant beliefs of the Romantic poets. Romantic poets placed a strong emphasis on nature and primitivism (living a simple life), Further, Romantic poets had a penchant for the life of escapism and idealism rather than realism.
This disdain for science is clearly demonstrated in “Sonnet: To Science” by Edgar Allan Poe. The poem opens “Science…who alterest all things with thy peering eyes." Poe is stating that science changes everything with its eyes. Science looks at things that can only be observed, not dreamed. Poe goes on to say science is a vulture, whose wings are “dull realities.” He is saying science believes only in a reality that is dull and boring. By using the word “vulture,” Poe shows he considers science something that is evil and preys upon the dreams and “realities” of others. Later Poe asks, “hast thou not torn the Naia...